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Conch Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

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Changes of Symbols
A symbol is defined as something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial like a token, emblem, or sign according to Dictionary.com. Ralph, Jack, and Piggy are important characters in the book Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. The protagonist is Ralph, a rational boy who is elected to be the leader by others, while the antagonist is Jack, Ralph’s rival. Piggy is an intelligent boy and also acts as Ralph’s advisor. These boys, plus others, get stranded on an island, with no adults, after their plane crashes. Throughout the story the boys start to become savage-like and turning on one another. In the duration of the book some symbols are mentioned, …show more content…

Ralph states about the conch, “‘I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking’” (Golding 33). In the beginning of the book, the conch symbolizes government and power. Ralph states that the conch will give the right of a person to talk which shows how the conch is keeping order around for the boys like a government. However, the conch’s meaning changes towards the end of the book. Golding describes the end of the conch in a detailed manner after the conch is dropped down a cliff: “...the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). Golding describes the destruction of the conch when it falls off a cliff. As this happens it shows how the boys have lost their civilization, which means they lost their government and they go more towards their savage sides. The conch symbolizes government and power and then loss of civilization, while the fire represents hope and then …show more content…

The fire is described as, “ The flame, nearly invisible at first in that bright sunlight, enveloped a small twig, grew, was enriched with color and reached up to a branch which exploded a sharp crack. The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer” (Golding 41). The boys are all really happy that they are able to get a flame going so they will not freeze that night and so they could cook for nights to come. All the boys are filled with hope that they would survive and that they would be able to leave the island safely. Their hope, unfortunately, would later on disappear. Jack has set fire to the forest just to find Ralph, disregarding all the bad outcomes of doing this: “ All at once the lights flickering ahead of him merged together, the roar of the forest rose to thunder and a tall bush directly in his path burst into a great fan-shaped flame” (Golding 199). Jack sets fire to the forest just to find Ralph, not thinking of any consequences that come with burning down the forest. The fire has lost its symbol of hope, but has now become the symbol of destruction as Jack has used it for. The fire symbolizes hope and then destruction while the boys’ hair and clothing represent how they are civilized but then go

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The conch shell loses its power and influence over the boys as their island civilization deteriorates and they fall into savagery. The smashing of the conch shell symbolizes the demise of the civilized instinct within a majority of the boys on the island. The Signal Fire- It burns on the mountain and the beach; to grab the attention of passing ships that could potentially save the boys.

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389 Words | 2 Pages

The conch represents democracy, respect, order, and power in the novel. Ralph and Piggy find the conch in the chapter one and Piggy said to use the conch to “call the others and have meetings”. Whenever the boys have a meeting around the campfire, the person holding the conch is the only one allowed to speak. This is shown in chapter one again when Ralph used the conch to control the crowd and it said “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority.” That created a mutual respect for everyone's ideas.

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113 Words | 1 Pages

What is a symbol? In literature a symbol is an object, person, place or an idea that has a real meaning in itself and also a deeper and profound meaning . Many examples of symbols can be found in the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story of the book takes place in the roaring 1920’s and within the story Fitzgerald uses a lot of symbols as objects and physical location. The physical locations such as valley of ashes, Gatsby’s mansion , Nick’s house , the green light located in the Buchanan residents’ dock are not only places or locations that the author mentions, they symbolize emotions, feelings and other significant information.

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191 Words | 1 Pages

In lord of the Flies there are many symbols, many are destroyed throughout the book. Physically or symbolically. For example, the conch was a symbol for civilization and when the boys began to become more savage the conch loses it power. Another example would be the fire, it symbolized destruction as well as the thought of being saved/rescued. When the boys failed to keep the fire ablaze it illustrated how reckless they became, in addition to how at the end of the novel the boys cried because they did not wish to be saved.

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635 Words | 3 Pages

Look, there ain’t no need, Ralph! What’re the others going to think?” (Golding, 158) The conch started off as a symbol of calmness and was supposed to help the boys keep order, as the conch being a “talking piece”. Later on, it turned into chaos, causing a lot of issues between the boys, and not being the symbol of calmness as it had started off as in the novel.

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150 Words | 1 Pages

A symbol is an object that has a representation of meaning something important. For example, the fictional novel, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, has several symbols, like Jack's

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882 Words | 4 Pages

The destruction of the conch occurred when the boys had fully lost their innocence and had turned “Savage.” The destruction of the conch took place after Jack decided to leave Ralph and start his own tribe on the other side of the island and coerced many of Ralph’s followers to join him, and this is when the demise of civilized thoughts and order really occurred. “... The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). The destruction of the conch ment the boys had returned to their primitive stages, in which civilization and order didn’t exist, only savagery existed. The conch was proof of the boys being civilized, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the conch breaking was showing how they had lost all sense of civilization and have become completely savage.

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1193 Words | 5 Pages

Ralph notices the discord but resolves it by enforcing, “I 'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he 's speaking” (Golding 33). The conch represents the discipline of the boys and their civilization. Since Ralph thought to use the conch as a speaking system, the conch represents his leadership and authority over the boys. It also represents his authority because he is the only boy that does not need the conch to speak.

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476 Words | 2 Pages

The ship did not see the smoke to rescue the boys from the island because Jack was more worried about hunting a pig instead of maintaining the fire while the others worked on other things for the camp. Another example of symbolism is Jack’s

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904 Words | 4 Pages

At first the fire was used as a signal in order to try and save the boys, making it a tool for success to return them to the normal world. Ralph proclaims “We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us.” (Golding). Furthermore, in the novel, the fire becomes a source of comfort for the boys, providing them with warmth and usefulness as a source of light and method to cook food.

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1119 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the conch is a primary symbol, which represents civility and order. Throughout the book it served as a power tool that the boys highly respected, in fact, the symbolism of the conch begins before it is even blown. Ralph is the one who originally discovers and posses the shell, but it’s Piggy who explains it’s significance. Piggy has to teach Ralph how to blow it; this shows how from the beginning the conch is linked with both Piggy and Ralph.

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637 Words | 3 Pages

Symbols, what are they? A symbol is, “something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance.” For example, a lion represents courage, but have ever thought of a mockingbird as a symbol? In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the “mockingbird” symbolizes somethings; it symbolizes innocence. This is important, because this helps the reader understand the passages more.

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1077 Words | 5 Pages

The first fire is built to signal ships for their rescue; it symbolizes hope here. Once the fire is burning brightly, the boys “paused to enjoy the freshness of [the fire]... they flung themselves down in the shadows that lay among the shattered rocks,” (41). The fire comforts the young island inhabitants because it lets them relax with the hope of getting rescued. The boys on the island start to lose hope, even Ralph. Ralph tells Piggy “let the fire go then, for tonight,” (164), showing that he has stopped caring about getting home.

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1036 Words | 5 Pages

This is an example of the rules the conch symbolizes because, when Ralph holds the conch up they all know they need to be quiet and do as he says. Another example that shows the conchs rules is when the author writes ¨He held the conch before his face and glanced around the mouth. ´ Then i 'll give him the conch. ´ ´

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2103 Words | 9 Pages

‘All the same you need an army–for hunting. Hunting pigs–’” The conch gives whoevers holding it automatic authority and respect before Ralph even established what the conch is for. Ralph uses the conch as a symbol of authority with the boys in their second

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